Article Digest:
Just the mention of chocolate souffl&eacute; can conjure up feelings of decadence and luxury. The ability to prepare a chocolate souffl&eacute; usually commands the admiration of the diners. However, the difficulty in preparing a souffl&eacute; has been somewhat exaggerated over time, and, although, most people won't even attempt it, souffl&eacute;s can be quite simple to make. This dark chocolate souffl&eacute; is easy to make and can be the perfect finale to a romantic dinner.

This recipe is primarily dependant on dark chocolate, so be sure to use the best quality dark chocolate that you enjoy. I personally like Dagoba and Scharffen Berger chocolate.

Prepare two 6 ounce (180 mL) souffl&eacute; ramekins by applying a layer of cold butter to the interior of the ramekins. Use your fingers to apply an even, thin coat of butter to all parts of the ramekin including the sides. Pour some granulated sugar into the ramekin and shake and roll the ramekin to coat the bottom and sides with sugar. Several sources claim that the butter and sugar help the souffle rise, but this is not actually true. The butter and sugar are really there to add flavor of the crust and aid in the release of the souffl&eacute; from the ramekin (if desired).[IMG]

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Bring some water to a boil in a pot. Once the water boils, reduce the heat until the water just simmers. Place a small metal bowl over the pot to form a double boiler.

The resulting mixture may look like the chocolate seized, but don't worry, it will smooth out once the egg whites are folded in.[IMG]

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until the egg whites reach soft peaks. (The cream of tartar is added to egg whites to increase the acidity slightly. This allows the proteins to bind together a bit more easily making stronger bubbles to form the basis of the egg white foam.) This can be accomplished with a bit of effort with a whisk (took me about 5 minutes) or a hand mixer with a whisk attachment. The term soft peaks means the foam has reached the point where the egg whites stand up when the whisk (or your finger) is lightly dipped into the foam and gently lifted out. The tip of the peak should droop. If the tip stands up straight, then it has reached the stiff peaks stage.[IMG]

Add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until you reach stiff peaks. Adding the whites a little at a time, fold them into the chocolate mixture.[IMG]

Without over mixing, fold the remaining egg whites into the batter.[IMG]

Pour the batter into the two prepared ramekins. Fill them at least 3/4 of the way up. Place the ramekins on a baking pan and place the pan in the oven on a rack set in the middle position.[IMG]

Bake the souffl&eacute;s for 15 minutes. As it bakes, the air bubbles we've incorporated into the batter will start to expand, causing the entire souffle to rise. After fifteen minutes, the souffl&eacute; will have risen up out of the ramekin (the photo shows an example of a ramekin filled to the 3/4 full level). (Greater lift can be achieved by using three egg whites instead of two).[IMG]

Serve immediately in the ramekin. (Ramekins will be hot, so use some hand protection to transfer the souffl&eacute;.) As the souffl&eacute; cools, it will drop and become more dense. An alternate method of service is to remove the souffl&eacute; from the ramekin. This easiest accomplished once the souffl&eacute; has cooled a bit and a knife has been run along the sides. The souffl&eacute; can be inverted and tapped out onto a catching hand and then deposited onto a plate. Reheating the souffl&eacute; at this point will allow the air bubbles to expand again and the souffl&eacute; will rise back up (although not to its former size).[IMG]

I was hoping to be able to provide this recipe earlier so readers of CfE would have time to prepare if they wanted to make this for Valentine's Day, but unfortunately, I didn't have much free time until now.

If there is sudden or massive shock to the souffle (dropping it a couple inches might do it) or a blast of cold air could cause the air bubbles to collapse. Larger souffles (such as a 1-1/2 quart souffle) are more delicate because the sides of the souffle are where most of the structural support exists (the sides are cooked more and form a hard, but delicate, crust).

In my experience (which is witnessing my parents make soufflé-- I'm a batchelor and do not own ramekins) it is the temperature change that causes them to fall-- in short, never open the dang oven. The egg foam is what's holding all the air in, and until it cooks to firmness (so the soufflé can stand without relying on trapping the air), the air needs to stay warm. You don't have to tiptoe around the kitchen, but you should take the basketball outside, just in case.

Anyway, a fallen soufflé tastes almost as good-- it's denser and ends up tasting too rich, so go ahead and serve smaller portions with something else, like ice cream, and tell anyone who won't know better that it's fondant.

One problem I've noted especially with souffles is that when cooking at altitude, they do in fact live up to their temperamental reputation. Most substitutions are geared towards cakes, which either don't work with souffles, or render them chewy and tough. Any suggestions for cooking a souffle at nearly 7,000 feet? I'm frankly too discouraged at this point to even try.

BTW, your capcha is pretty easy to break, even automatically. You might want to investigate upgrading it. Of course, the problem with good capchas is that even humans have a hard time, so as long as it's working for you, nevermind.

I've heard that since souffles are so sensitive to temperature changes, making them in an electric oven usually produces a better result than a gas oven since the temperature is steadier. I've never made a souffle, and have always been scared to try since I have a gas oven. Is this a reasonable concern?

The recipe states it can be doubled. Are any non-linear adjustments needed to triple or quadruple the recipe? Thanks.

Feel free to triple and quadruple when a recipe says "can be doubled". (It's easier to understand than - can be multiplied.) The length of time it takes for your chocolate to melt, etc. will be different however, but as long as you use 6 oz. ramekins, the baking time should remain about the same (unless you're making 80 of these and the oven has multiple layers of cold souffles when you start baking...

I made six of these little beauties last night. I did add the extra egg whites, and the extra puffiness was impressive. None of my guests, save one, could finish the whole thing, however. I served it with loosely whipped and sweetened cream. It was my first effort at any kind of souffle and I am grateful for the instructions you provide and illustrations as well.

I tried this over the weekend. I had used 3 ramekins instead of 2 as it appears that I have too much leftover batter. I didn't want to overfill the ramkins also since I'm not sure how much it rises. It turned out wonderful. Next time I will try it with 3 egg whites instead to see how puffy it can get. Thanks!